Chapter 375: Shadow of an Old Acquaintance

“The very thing that makes us human is our adherence to evolution and the natural laws of life—the step-by-step progression from single-celled organisms to apes, to primitive man, and finally to Homo sapiens!”

“For tens of thousands of years, not a single one of our evolutions has occurred without a physical body! Not one has strayed from the realm of natural life! But you’re telling us that in the Virtual Digital World, a male and female Digital Life can give birth to a new Digital Life baby!”

“They have no flesh, no genetic helix, no biological characteristics… Are you sure these new lives you’ve created can even be called human?”

“If these new species aren’t human at all, but monsters in human shells, then what you’re doing is destroying human civilization! You’re a traitor to human civilization! A bona fide enemy of humanity!”

BOOM—

The entire classroom erupted!

No one expected this international student from Dragon Country to slap Professor Noah with the label of an enemy of humanity right off the bat! His words grew more and more intense, more and more outrageous. The agitated Tang Hu even looked like he was about to climb onto a table!

“Security! Security!”

The female assistant frantically shouted into the microphone.

The venue’s security staff immediately rushed forward, grabbed Tang Hu by the arms, and began dragging him out.

“Seriously… man, wasn’t that a bit too radical!”

Jiang Ran watched Tang Hu being dragged away, struggling wildly. He never imagined his brother from the Northeast would blow up just like that. ‘Is this what he calls ‘knowing my limits’?’

Actually, a moment ago, Jiang Ran had been genuinely impressed by the guy.

The questions he raised pointed directly to the fatal flaw of the Virtual Digital World, and he’d even stolen the words right out of Jiang Ran’s mouth.

But…

‘If he had said those things calmly and tried to communicate properly, Professor Noah might have actually considered them seriously.’

‘But Tang Hu just had to come in hot like a Super Male, blasting the professor with a tirade of insults… Who would be able to accept that?’

Jiang Ran could only wave a silent farewell to Tang Hu.

‘Sorry, bro. Can’t see you out.’

‘I have my own business to attend to. I can only watch as my Northeast brother is dragged away.’

Still, he had to thank Tang Hu.

The entire reason Jiang Ran had been able to find his way to the Zurich Polytechnic Institute today was because of something Pompey had said while crying with regret—

“At the end of 2025, during that lecture at the Zurich Polytechnic Institute, what that student said was right… I’m only realizing it now, in hindsight.”

He never would have imagined.

That the “rebellious student” who had left such a lasting impression on Pompey was none other than the crude but correct Tang Hu.

After the tall and sturdy Tang Hu was carried away by two even larger security guards, the classroom filled with whispers and murmurs.

Dr. Noah, however, just smiled faintly, calmly picked up the microphone, and addressed the audience:

“That student’s question just now, though worded quite aggressively, actually has a certain logic to it.”

“I’ve also explained to everyone before that the evolution of life, and indeed the evolution of civilization, inevitably requires sacrificing certain things.”

“In the beginning, life was born in the ocean. When the first sea creature crawled onto land and evolved limbs and lungs, it lost its ability to soar through the great seas… To the sea creatures of that time, wouldn’t that have seemed just as incomprehensible?”

“The earliest apes were agile climbers, with sharp claws and teeth that could tear bark and cling to any rough surface. But in the end, our human ancestors chose to stand on two feet, to walk upright, and in doing so lost their climbing ability and sharp claws… To the other apes, wouldn’t that have seemed just as incomprehensible?”

“Oftentimes, we shouldn’t fixate on what we’ve lost, but rather focus on what we’ve gained.”

“As that student just said, the evolution of our species may indeed make humanity something different from the humans of our traditional understanding… But let me ask you all: do any of you now perceive yourselves as apes, as Ichthyostega, as single-celled organisms?”

This sentence drew a wave of laughter from the audience, and the atmosphere of the lecture once again became cheerful and harmonious.

Everyone thought Professor Noah had a point. The evolution of civilization and species truly couldn’t be held back by sticking to old ways.

Besides, Professor Noah had already made it clear that the Virtual Digital World was just a fantasy for the next few decades… Why get so worked up over something so far-fetched? Many began to condemn Tang Hu.

Afterwards, the female assistant took the microphone again and organized a Q&A session by having people raise their hands.

Jiang Ran raised his hand every single time.

But he quickly discovered… When the female assistant called on people, she deliberately avoided his section, ignoring Jiang Ran’s raised hand and giving him no opportunity to speak.

“Fuck.”

‘I’ve really been dragged down by Tang Hu,’ Jiang Ran cursed silently.

‘He and Tang Hu were sitting together, both international students from Dragon Country with black hair and Asian features. From any angle, they looked like they were together. The assistant wouldn’t dare call on me in a million years!’

Helpless, Jiang Ran could only wait until the lecture ended. He waited for the enthusiastic students who had crowded around Professor Noah asking all sorts of questions to finish, and waited for the classroom to empty out… Only then was he finally able to squeeze his way to Professor Noah’s side.

“Hello, Professor Noah,” Jiang Ran said, greeting him politely.

“Hello.”

Professor Noah replied with a smile:

“Is there something I can help you with?”

Jiang Ran nodded.

“Professor Noah, although that Dragon Country student from earlier was a bit aggressive in his delivery, I think he was right… The new lives born in the Virtual Digital World absolutely cannot be treated as ordinary Digital Life, especially when it comes to data capacity. Things may not be as optimistic as you think.”

“They are indeed a completely new species, a form of life that we cannot comprehend with our current understanding. Therefore, in terms of data size—”

Before Jiang Ran could finish, Noah impatiently cut him off.

“That’s enough, young man. I understand what the two of you are trying to say. But I can only say… the ignorant are fearless. You know too little, your knowledge is too limited, and that’s why you have such fanciful ideas.”

“The Zurich Polytechnic Institute has many similar courses. If you’re interested, you can also go study at Dartmouth College in the United States. I have no obligation to explain it to you here.”

He picked up his briefcase and strode away.

“Wait!”

Just as Jiang Ran was about to call out to him, the female assistant moved to block his way.

“Excuse me, Professor Noah has a very busy schedule. Today’s lecture is over. Please don’t pester him.”

Watching Noah walk further and further away, Jiang Ran gritted his teeth.

‘No…’

‘Neither Tang Hu’s words nor my own persuasion had any effect. In Professor Noah’s eyes, the words of two students were insignificant; he hadn’t taken them seriously at all.’

‘If I let Professor Noah leave just like this, he’ll definitely continue on his own path, and the tragedy will surely happen again.’

‘I can’t let him go!’

‘I have to make him stay!’

At that moment, Jiang Ran could barely resist the urge to shout out the codename ‘Puppet’ and expose Professor Noah’s identity as a member of the Genius Playground.

But in the end, for the sake of caution, he held back.

‘This is a red line that absolutely cannot be crossed… He’d already figured out that the members of the Genius Playground were fighting and killing each other. In modern society, once your identity is exposed, it’s equivalent to losing everything, to falling into a passive situation like Qin Feng’s, forced to hide and live on the run.’

‘At least Qin Feng had Lilith to protect him, and had some ability to hide his tracks.’

‘But I have nothing. If I were to shout the codename ‘Puppet’ at Noah here… I probably wouldn’t make it out of the Zurich Polytechnic Institute alive.’

‘So what can I do now?’

‘What else could make Noah stay?’

Suddenly, Jiang Ran thought of an old acquaintance.

‘Also from the Dartmouth School, also researched Consciousness Upload, and what’s more, was silenced by Priest, another member of the Genius Playground…’

‘Noah couldn’t possibly be unaware.’

‘This name must carry some weight with Noah!’

“Yan Chonghan!!”

Jiang Ran shouted at Professor Noah, who had reached the classroom doorway:

“Yan Chonghan from Dartmouth College! You must know that name!”

Suddenly, Professor Noah stopped in his tracks. He slowly turned around and looked at Jiang Ran with a puzzled expression:

“You know Yan Chonghan?”

Seeing this, the female assistant also froze and no longer blocked Jiang Ran.

Noah walked back, stood in front of Jiang Ran, and looked him up and down.

“Tell me, what is your relationship with Yan Chonghan?”

Jiang Ran breathed a sigh of relief and let out a soft chuckle.

‘It seems my intuition was right. Noah and Yan Chonghan really do share a common lineage. The weight of that name… was enough to make him stop.’

“Yan Chonghan was my teacher.”

Jiang Ran said solemnly:

“Professor Noah, before he passed away, Professor Yan Chonghan taught me at East Sea University.”

“I think… you really need to listen carefully to what I have to say!”